Railway coupling apparatus

ABSTRACT

A railway car coupler section particularly suitable for resisting wear and for long life utilizes a coupler housing and coupler bar, with the coupler housing having a replaceable bearing insert made of a material having improved wear qualities over that of the coupler housing.

United States Patent 11 1 Hershey et al.

1 1 Sept. 25, 1973 RAILWAY COUPLING APPARATUS Inventors: Elmer E. Hershey; Donald L.

Crummett, both of Fort Worth, Tex.

Assignee: Halliburton Company, Duncan,

Okla.

Filed: Mar. 20, 1972 Appl. No.1 236,000

US. Cl 213/69, 213/505, 213/64 Int. Cl. B6lg 7/10, 861g 9/20 Field of Search 213/62, 64, 67, 69,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Barrows er al. 213/67 R 9/1928 Whilridge et al. .1 213/69 Primary Examiner-Drayton E. Hoffman Att0rney.lohn l-l. Tregoning et al.

[ 5 7] ABSTRACT A railway car coupler section particularly suitable for resisting wear and for long life utilizes a coupler housing and coupler bar, with the coupler housing having a replaceable bearing insert made of a material having improved wear qualities over that of the coupler housmg.

6 Claims, 11 Drawing Flgures Pmminsm 3', 760,954

' sum 1 or 3 FIG. 3

PATENTED SEP25I975 SHEHZBFS FIG. 2

PATENTED SEPZSISIS sum 30? 3 FIG.4b

FIG. 5 FIG. 5b

RAILWAY COUPLING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is well known that railway cars, particulary freight cars, are subjected to many impacts or shocks of relatively great magnitude and that such impacts or shocks are amplified and multiplied by the number of cars in a given train. This is due in part to the fact that there is a certain amount of slack between the couplers of the cars. The cars tend to bunch or crowdtogether on slowing or stopping of the prime mover or engine, on down grades and on entering curves, whereby each car bumps the car forwardly thereof and the combined impact of all of said cars is transmitted to the slower traveling foremost car. n initial movement or acceleration of the engine, on up grades and on leaving curves, the cars tend to stretch or move away from one another so as to be jerked by the faster traveling cars thereahead and the combined stress or relative movement of all of the cars is exerted upon the rearmost car. Manifestly, these impacts or shocks damage the cars and particularly their contents as well as wear the couplers to thereby produce greater impacts or shocks in the future.

Moreover, when freight trains are made up, severe impact stresses are set up in the couplers and draft gear and great shocks are imparted to the contents of the cars when cars are moved into impact with each other in effecting coupling.

Therefore, in the design of railway cars, and particularly freight cars, it is necessary to incorporate into the apparatus at the end of each car a means for cushioning train action events in conjunction with a coupling means to movably connect the railway cars together and allow each car to turn with respect to the other cars in order that the train may traverse curves and rail discontinuities. A common method of coupling cars together is to incorporate into the cushioning apparatus which is connected to the car, a coupler device consisting of a housing and a coupler bar passing into the housing and abutting on a curved bearing surface in the end of the housing. The coupler bar is usually pinned in the housing in such a way that the coupler bar may undergo limited rotation within the housing.

The wear occurring in coupler arrangements arises primarily at the end or butt of the coupler bar and the coupler butt bearing area in the coupler housing where the coupler bar abuts the housing.

When the wear becomes sufficient enough to cause severe slack and misalignment between the coupler bar and coupler butt bearing area in the housing, the coupler bar must be replaced. If the housing is not also replaced with a new one then mating of the new coupler bar and the old housing is less than that desired and the result is quicker wearing of the new coupler bar, and high operating stresses on it.

The only satisfactory method of obtaining a refurbished coupler arrangement in the past has been to replace the coupler bar and the housing with new components. This involves a great deal of cost in both component cost and labor involved.

Another disadvantage of prior art coupler devices has been the limitation of materials and difficulty of obtaining accurate bearing surfaces in the housing. Since the coupler housings are usually cast as one integral piece, with the coupler butt bearing area cast into the housing, the coupler butt bearing area must of necessity be made of the same material as the housing and therefore will exhibit the wear characteristics of the cast material. In order to reduce manufacturing costs, the conventional housings are cast of a low cost alloy which exhibits poor wear characteristics. Thus, the housings tend to wear at an accelerated rate due to the low wear resistance of the alloy used and the lack of cold or hot working on the surface.

The only alternative to replacement of the housing has heretofore been to remove the housing, apply weldment to the worn area-to build back up that material that was worn away and then remachine the coupler butt bearing area to original tolerances and replace the housing.

The cost of rebuilding the coupler housing by welding and remachining proves prohibitive and even exceeds the cost of a new housing because of the extremely high costs of skilled labor involved in the welding and remachining operations. It is a lengthy and time consuming task to machine the welded area due to its relative inaccessibility in the housing.

The present invention overcomes the difficulties of the prior art by providing a coupler arrangement with a cast coupler housing having a removable bearing pad insert and a means for receiving and securing the bearing pad insert in the housing. The bearing insert is made of a tough, long wearing material which can be heat treated or cold worked to further extend its life. The cast housing can be bored to receive the insert hearing, which boring, in itself, is accurate and easy to perform compared .to the difficult process involved in machining a bearing surface of the necessary contour in the cast housing. r The bearing insert can be manufactured to closer tolerances and at much greater accuracy of curvature than can be the rear surface of the cast housing. The insert bearing pad can also be adapted to be insertable and removable in the housing without need for removing the housing from the railway car.

Replacement cost of the insert bearing is minimal compared to the cost of a new housing due to the small size of the insert and simplicity of it as contrasted with the bulkiness and complexity of the entire housing. Also the selection of long wearing materials for the bearing, and heat treating or cold working, as well as accurately formed bearing surfaces all combine to provide a phenomenally extended bearing life which fur ther reduces operating costs of the coupler arrangement. Use of the replacement insert also extends the life of the coupler housing indefinitely.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the coupler arrangement of this invention.

FIG. 2 is an isometric breakaway view of the coupler arrangement in conjunction with the cushioning apparatus.

FIG. 3 illustrates the coupler housing having the insert recess machined therein. I

FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional side view of one embodiment of the coupler insert.

FIG. 4A shows an end view of the insert of FIG. 4.

FIG. 48 illustrates the type of coupler bar to be used with the insert of FIGS. 4 and 4A.

FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional top view of the inset of FIG. 4.

FIG. shows a cross-sectional top view of a second embodiment of the coupler insert.

FIG. 5A shows an end view of the insert of FIG. 5.

FIG. 5B shows the type of coupler bar used with the insert of FIGS. 5 and 5A.

FIG. 5C shows a cross-sectional side view of the insert of FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIG. 1 the front end housing 1 is fixedly attached to the outer housing 2 of the cushioning unit by means such as welds at 3. Front end housing 1 is a cast metal part formed primarily in the shape of a rectagonal box having upper and lower horizontal sides 4 and 5 respectively, vertical sides and 11 (see FIG. 3) and a coupler butt bearing area 6. The housing 1 has a rectagonal cross section and has a rectagonal opening 7 therethrough for receiving the coupler bar 8.

A circular hole 9 is cast in or machined through the top 4 and bottom 5 of the housing 1 perpendicular to the planes of top 4 and bottom 5 and substantially centered in top 4.

Coupler bar 8 has a corresponding circular hole 12 passing through it in alignment with hole 9. Passing through holes 9 and 12 is coupler pin 13 which is a right circular cylindrical dowel pin made of a tough material such as steel. Pin follower plate 14 is located between pin 13 and the rearward end 80 of coupler bar 8. Pin 13 is retained in place by circular retainer plate 20 fixedly attached to side 5 of housing 1.

The end 8a of coupler bar 8 abuts the bearing pad insert 15 which is fixedly secured in recess 16 of coupler butt bearing area 6 by means such as welds 17. Insert 15 has a spherical concave surface 18 which mates with spherical convex surface 19 on the rearward end 80 of coupler bar 8.

FIG. 2 shows an assembly sketch of the components of the coupler system wherein coupler bar 8 is designed to slide into rectangular opening 7 of front end housing 1 which is fixedly attached to cushioning housing 2. Coupler pin 13 is inserted into housing 1 through hole 9 and through hole 12 in coupler 8. Retainer plate 20 is attached to housing 1 to retain pin 13 in place. The coupler assembly is then placed inside car sill 21 which is attached to car bed 22. The coupler assembly is slidably located in the sill. Contraction of the cushioning apparatus is limited by buff-stops 23 located between housing 2 and backstop 24. The backstop 24 is fixedly attached to sill 21. The coupler assembly is supported in sill 21 by carrier plate 25 which is bolted or fixedly attached to sill rails 26 and 27. Draft retainer 28 is fixedly attached to backstop 24 and retains restoring mechanism 29, which mechanism is also attached to ear 31 of housing 1 by connecting means 30, and serves to move the coupler assembly back into extended position after encountering buff forces.

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the housing 1 showing the bored circular recess 16, the vertical side walls 10 and 11, upper horizontal side 4 and lower horizontal side 5,' circular hole 9, and side flanges 32 and 33.

The bearing pad insert 15 is shown in the end view, FIG. 4A, a cross-sectional top view in FIG. 4, and a cross-sectional side view in FIG. 4C. The insert has beveled annular face 34, spherical concave bearing surface 18, and fiat seating surface 35. FIG. 43 illustrates a coupler bar 8a having a convex spherical surface 19 formed thereon, with surface 19 having substantially the same radius of curvature as that of surface 18. FIGS. 5, 5A, and 5C illustrate an alternative bearing pad insert 36 having a flattened circular configuration with inner spherical concave surface 37 and curved clearance shoulders 38 and 39 at each edge of surface 37. Flat surface 40 is adapted to fit snugly within a recess machined into the coupler housing which recess (not shown) is of the same configuration as FIG. 5A.

The bearing pad insert of FIGS. 5, 5A, and 5C are designed to be used in conjunction with the type of coupler bar 41 ilustrated in FIG. 5B. Coupler 41 has spherical convex surface 42 for mating with surface 37 of bearing pad 36. Coupler 41 is of the old type coupler having alignment ears 43 and 44 which ears are not utilized in this invention. Thus, bearing pad 36 has clearance shoulders 38 and 39 formed thereon for allowing the old style coupler bar 41 to be used with the bearing pad 36 of this invention, without interference between the ears, 43 and 44, and the edges of the bearing pad.

In operation, the coupler bar 8 or 41 is connected at its extreme end 45 (FIG. 2) to the corresponding coupler of the next adjacent railway car (not shown). During buff action or run-in action the coupler bar is pressed into housing 1 causing abutment of convex surface 19 in concave surface 18 thereby effectively and efficiently spreading the buff forces over the spherical surface and transmitting the bufi forces to the cushioning apparatus located in housing 2. Draft or run-out forces are absorbed by pin 13 abutting the forward face of hole 9 and the pin follower plate 14.

The bearing pad inserts 15 and 36 are preferably forged of a tough long-wearing alloy such as steel, and are heat treated. The newly cast housings are prepared for receiving the inserts by boring in the coupler butt bearing area 6 a circular recess 16 to receive bearing pad 15 or machining an oblong recess to receive bearing pad 36. The pad is then placed into the corresponding recess in the housing and fixedly attached thereto by some means such as welding.

The bearing pads can be removed from the housing after they have become substantially worn and replaced by new pads. The removal and replacement are easily accomplished without having to remove the entire coupling assembly from the car by removing pin retainer plate 20v and dropping pin 13 out of the assembly. The coupler bar 8 is then removed and the weld holding the bearing pad can be cut by torch or machining and the pad removed. The new pad is then inserted in the existing recess and reattached to the housing end plate 6 by welding or other means.

The bearing pads of this invention can also be successfully utilized in existing conventional type coupler housings by removing the housing from the railroad car and machining therein the recess corresponding to the particular type of bearing pad to be used. The bearing pad is then inserted into the housing and attached to it i as it was in the new housing.

The advantages of this invention are manifold; for instance, by having a wide range of metals and alloys and metal hardening techniques available from which to manufacture the bearing pads, their wear rate can be reduced tremendously from that of the bearing surface in conventional coupler housings.

A second advantage is realized when the bearing surface does finally become worn enough to require replacement, which of course occurs long after a conventional housing would have worn out; then at that time, the bearing pad is easily removed from the housing and replaced with a new one while the housing remains on the car. This saves the cost of a new housing and also the labor cost of removing the old housing and replacing with the new one.

Another advantage is that by the use of the bearing pad inserts of this invention a better fitting bearing surface can be installed in the housing thereby spreading out buff forces which reduces wear and lowers the compressive stresses in the coupler and the housing, thereby preventing early metal failure caused by overstressing of the parts.

Another advantage is that with the better fitting bearing surfaces achieved with this invention the slack in the couplings is less, and remains less for a longer period than with the conventional housings. Thus, when the train is undergoing run-in events the cumulative slack forces transferred to the end cars undergoing runin are consideably less than in conventionally equipped train cars. This in turn results in less wear and stress on all coupler assemblies throughout the entire string of cars and further lengthens coupler and bearing pad life.

Although a specific preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in the detailed description above, the description is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms or embodiments disclosed herein, since they are to be recognized as illustrative rather than restrictive and it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the invention is not so limited. For instance, the bearing insert pads are described as being round or oblong but should not be limited to these shapes since it would be obvious to make them rectangular, square or any other geometrical configuration as long as the bearing surface corresponds to that of the coupler bar. The invention is declared to cover all changes and modifications of the specific example of the invention herein disclosed for purposes of illustration, which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention. Another change possible would be to attach the bearing pad inserts directly to the end plate of the housing without machining recesses therein for receiving the inserts.

What is claimed is:

1. Coupler apparatus for providing coupling of railway cars and having extended wear capabilities comprising:

a. coupler bar means, said coupler bar means having a vertical hole therethrough and further having a spherical bearing surface on the end thereof;

b. coupler housing means adapted to receive said coupler bar means in limited rotational relationship, said housing means having a hole therethrough aligned with said hole in said coupler bar means;

c. coupler bar retaining means comprising dowel pin means passing through said hole in said housing means and said hole in said coupler bar means; pin follower plate means between said dowel pin means and said coupler bar means and further arranged. to abut said coupler bar means and said dowel pin means when said coupler apparatus is undergoing train runout action; and dowel pin retainer means removably attached in said hole in the bottom of said housing means and arranged to prevent said dowel pin means from dropping downward out of said housing means;

. coupler bearing pad means fixedly attached to the interior of said housing means and adapted to abut said coupler bar means in bearing relationship, said pad means having a flat surface thereon adapted to be snugly inserted into a mating cylindrical recess in the bearing area of said coupler housing means; and

. bearing pad attachment means fixedly attaching said bearing pad means to said housing means in said cylindrical recess therein, said attachment means comprising weldment around the contact periphery of said bearing pad means with said housing means, said weldment located out of the bearing contact area of said bearing pad means, and arranged to secure said bearing pad means to said housing means.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said bearing pad means is adapted to project outwardly a sufficient distance from said cylindrical recess in said housing means to provide a weldment area in non-interfering relationship with said bearing pad means bearing surface area.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said coupler bearing pad means comprises a plate-like circular disc having a flat circular surface at one end thereof, a circular spherical concave surface opposite said flat end, and a beveled peripheral shoulder passing around said bearing pad means and communicating from said flat end to said concave end.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said coupler bearing pad means further comprises an oblong platelike disc having a flat surface and a partial spherical surface, said partial spherical surface having two outwardly facing relatively straight shoulders, one at each side of said spherical surface, said flat surface adapted to fit snugly within said recess in said housing means, said bearing pad means adapted to allow spherical coupler bar means having alignment ears thereon to abut in bearing relationship therewith while allowing freedom of movement of said coupler bar within said housing means.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said housing means is of a low cost, easily cast material having good strength, and said bearing pad means is of a hard material having machined, close tolerance bearing and abutment surfaces thereon, and said bearing surface on said bearing pad means is work hardened.

6. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said pin follower plate means comprises a curved plate adapted to be inserted between said dowel pin means and said coupler bar means, said coupler bar means having a spherical concave surface therein at one side of said hole therethrough, said follower plate means having a cylindrical surface on one side adapted to closely match said dowel pin means and a spherical convex surface opposite said cylindrical surface, said spherical convex surface adapted to closely match said spherical concave surface in closely mating relationship.

i l i 

1. Coupler apparatus for providing coupling of railway cars and having extended wear capabilities comprising: a. coupler bar means, said coupler bar means having a vertical hole therethrough and further having a spherical bearing surface on the end thereof; b. coupler housing means adapted to receive said coupler bar means in limited rotational relationship, said housing means having a hole therethrough aligned with said hole in said coupler bar means; c. coupler bar retaining means comprising dowel pin means passing through said hole in said housing means and said hole in said coupler bar means; pin follower plate means between said dowel pin means and said coupler bar means and further arranged to abut said coupler bar means and said dowel pin means when said coupler apparatus is undergoing train runout action; and dowel pin retainer means removably attached in said hole in the bottom of said housing means and arranged to prevent said dowel pin means from dropping downward out of said housing means; d. coupler bearing pad means fixedly attached to the interior of said housing means and adapted to abut said coupler bar means in bearing relationship, said pad means having a flat surface thereon adapted to be snugly inserted into a mating cylindrical recess in the bearing area of said coupler housing means; and e. bearing pad attachment means fixedly attaching said bearing pad means to said housing means in said cylindrical recess therein, said attachment means comprising weldment around the contact periphery of said bearing pad means with said housing means, said weldment located out of the bearing contact area of said bearing pad means, and arranged to secure said bearing pad means to said housing means.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said bearing pad means is adapted to project outwardly a sufficient distance from said cylindrical recess in said housing means to provide a weldment area in non-interfering relationship with said bearing pad means bearing surface area.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said coupler bearing pad means comprises a plate-like circular disc having a flat circular surface at one end thereof, a circular spherical concave surface opposite said flat end, and a beveled peripheral shoulder passing around said bearing pad means and communicating from said flat end to said concave end.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said coupler bearing pad means further comprises an oblong plate-like disc having a flat surface and a partial spherical surface, said partial spherical surface having two outwardly facing relatively straight shoulders, one at each side of said spherical surface, said flat surface adapted to fit snugly within said recess in said housing means, said bearing pad means adapted to allow spherical coupler bar means having alignment ears thereon to abut in bearing relationship therewith while allowing freedom of movement of said coupler bar within said housing means.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said housing means is of a low cost, easily cast material having good strength, and said bearing pad means is of a hard material having machined, close-tolerance bearing and abutment surfaces thereon, and said bearing surface on Said bearing pad means is work hardened.
 6. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said pin follower plate means comprises a curved plate adapted to be inserted between said dowel pin means and said coupler bar means, said coupler bar means having a spherical concave surface therein at one side of said hole therethrough, said follower plate means having a cylindrical surface on one side adapted to closely match said dowel pin means and a spherical convex surface opposite said cylindrical surface, said spherical convex surface adapted to closely match said spherical concave surface in closely mating relationship. 